Living Nightmare
by katiebabii935
Summary: The Jonas's have a new neighbor who soon gets them in a big situation. Jonas Brother mystery.
1. Chapter 1: Unforgettable Meet

**Disclaimer- **I do not own any of the Jonas Brothers, just the characters I make up

**Chapter One- Unforgettable Meet **

**(Joe's POV)**

"Joseph Adam Jonas!" I heard my mom call from the kitchen. She only used that name when I usually was in trouble.

"Yes, Mom?" I answered while speeding down the hall and into the kitchen. Once I had entered, my mother instantly had her eyes on me.

"Sit," she ordered pointing to a chair by the dinner table. I sat in the chair still pondering what was going to happen next. She sat in the chair across from me. The only thing between us was a dinner table.

"I got a call," she paused, "from the Collins." I sunk lower and lower in the chair as regret took over me. Our conversation got interrupted by my brothers, Nick and Kevin, running in the kitchen having a spitball fight. I started laughing as I watched them both shooting each other as Mom tried to split them apart.

"Boys, no more!" she demanded. Nick and Kevin both stopped shooting spitballs that were covering them, the floor, and now our mother.

"Sorry," Nick and Kevin said in between gasps of air from laughing. Nick and Kevin sat in the chairs at the same table as I was by at the same time my mom sat back in the chair. As we were getting back to the torment of one of Mom's famous lectures, the doorbell rings. It's funny how all of these distractions keep me from getting in trouble. Once she got up and headed towards the door, I tried my escape. I swear they are serious when they say they have eyes in the back of their head! She turned around before she opened the door and pointed at me, who was now up from the chair sneaking away from the table.

"You stay," she said firmly, "I will deal with you in a second." I sighed and sat back down.

"Dude, what did you do?" Nick whispered to me so only Kevin and I could hear.

"Ran over a mailbox…" I replied.

"With what? You don't have a car," Kevin piped in.

"Bike," I simply said as they both nodded in understanding. Our mom came back in the kitchen with a figure standing slightly behind her. All three of us stared at the arrival of our new neighbor. Mom introduced her as Katie.

"Hi," her voice almost seemed like a graceful song written by an angel.

"I'm Joseph; Joe for short. My brothers call me Danger though," I stood up and introduced myself. I then knew I made a total idiot of myself once I saw the confusion on her face.

"Nick," my younger brother basically told her his name for his introduction.

"Hey, I'm Kevin," Kevin stood up like I did. She stood there uneasy.

"You're willing to stay if you want," our mom told her. She nodded in agreement as we were almost forcing her to follow us for a tour of our house. I was off the hook again! Thank you, my soon to be girlfriend!—I mean Katie. After a couple of hours, she adjusted to us.

"You have to talk to be my friend—you have to talk," Nick chimed in from out of the ordinary.

She smiled and said, "You have to talk back though, ok?" Nick smiled back and nodded. This was not going as I expected.

"Hey, there are woods behind our house. Do you wanna go walk down there?" I asked her as Nick and Kevin looked at her for an answer.

"Sure!" She exclaimed. We all snuck out of the back door to the backyard that was a short distance away from the woods. I ran back in quietly and grabbed my cell phone from the side table of my bed. I soon crept back to the woods where I found them walking forward without me.

"Thanks for waiting for me," I said sarcastically. We all kept walking, but stopped and kept quiet once we heard a boom coming from behind us.

"What was that?" I mouthed to Nick. He shrugged as he tried to listen to get more information. Nick, Kevin, and I looked back instantly when we heard Katie scream in horror. We saw a middle-aged man, about 45 years of age, holding Katie down and trying to shut her up. Nick and Kevin ran the other way back to the house. I tried to run with my brothers, but my legs wouldn't budge. I pulled the cell phone out of my pocket and dialed 911. I forced my legs to move back away from the man. I barely could hold the phone to my ear due to shaking. I ran the way Nick and Kevin did a second ago while waiting for someone to pick up. I looked back at Katie once more before I disappeared out of the woods.

"H—help," Katie stuttered while the man tried covering her mouth so no one would hear her. "Joe!" She screamed. I dove towards Katie, dropping the phone to the ground, trying to save her. He pulled out a gun from who knows where, and shot. I didn't know what was going to happen next, or where I was even going to be.


	2. Chapter 2: Nightmare Begins

**Chapter Two- Nightmare Begins**

**(Joe's POV)**

I lay on the ground just waiting for the pain to shoot up in my sides. There was nothing; no pain, just terrified. I opened my eyes and sat up as I realized the man and Katie were gone. I came to stand up but something grabbed my feet and dragged me on the ground intensively. I screamed with terror and from the burning on my stomach from the leaves rapidly rubbing against it. I became unconscious once I hit my head hard on a tree stump.

"Joe? Joe?" I heard someone call from above me. I opened my eyes to find Katie hovering over me.

"Where are we?" I sat up and felt dizzy as I put my hand on the bump on my head.

"I dunno…" she replied with almost a whisper. We both looked around the dim room in curiosity.

She looked back at me and said, "Are you ok?" I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it. I blinked and a tear slid down my cheek.

"I'm scared," I admitted. She put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it telling me it will be ok. The door squeaked open revealing the kidnapper who took us into this cell of torture where the nightmare was soon to begin. He came close and looked intently right at us. He smirked and kicked me right in the stomach. I instantly closed my eyes and winced in pain.

"You have no idea what you're getting into," he grinned at me.

"Leave us alone!" I shouted. Shouting wasn't such a great idea. The anger rose in him hearing the tone grow higher when I spoke. He slapped me across the face. I put my hand on my cheek to ease the pain. The redness showed instantly on my cheek with a shape of half of a hand. Katie touched where the redness showed. The pain decreased when the coldness of Katie's hands iced my cheek. The man shoved her away and slapped me again. I looked at Katie and she looked back at me.

"Stupid kids," the man said to himself. Out of nowhere he grabbed Katie's wrists. I watched from the corner I sat in her struggling away from his grasp. I knew that if I made any move, I would regret it. He pulled her away from the room and locked the room I was in. I was now alone, scared, and in pain.

"Nick…Kevin…Mom…Dad…save me, please," I said aloud even though I knew they couldn't hear me. I brought my knees up to my chin and brought my head back against the wall. After a couple of hours, the man came back into the room I was in alone. I had no idea what he had done to Katie.

"What are you doing to do to me?" I asked curiously. He gave no answer. He grabbed my arm and I helplessly stood up. My screams and cries filled up the whole room as he repeatedly beat me. I collapsed on the ground. My whole body was throbbing.

"Please, please stop," I begged him holding my side. He laughed at me and kicked me in my side. I closed my eyes trying not to think how much it hurt and how my family would come through that door saving me any second. I wanted them to know how much I love them. I wanted Nick and Kevin to know that I took this spot for them so they wouldn't have to go through this. I wanted them to know that I would do this for them any day, any second. I'm glad this was me instead of them.

"I want to go home!" I pleaded.

"You aren't going home," he replied.

"Why are you doing this?"

"It amuses me."

I started questioning in my head what he was going to do next as I saw him set up a camera.

"Wouldn't you love for your family to see you?" he glared at me while turning the camera on. He set the camera on the floor and brought a chair that was in a corner in the middle of the room. He thrust me in the chair and tied me up. I fought back with the knots he tied that kept me and the chair inseparable. He then picked up the camera and started filming me. He didn't take the camera off of me, not even for one second.

"What is wrong with you," I said coldly. He slapped me again. I winced, but didn't let out how it really felt. I knew my family would be watching this, and I didn't want them worrying about me. I would take this place for Nick or Kevin any day and I needed to show that.


	3. Chapter 3: Not the Same

**Chapter Three- Not the Same**

**(Nick's POV)**

I tripped on my own feet running while following Kevin towards the house.  
"Mom! Dad!" I screamed. They both rushed to the back porch.

"Baby, what's the matter?" she pulled me in her arms. Dad tried to calm Kevin once he started hyperventilating. Tears streamed down Kevin's cheeks, as well as my own.

"Joe," Kevin said in between gasps of air. Our dad scanned through the trees that made the woods waiting for Joe and Katie to pop out.

"Where's Joseph?" My dad asked with worry in his voice.

"A man took them. They're gone, Dad, they're gone!" I raised my voice knowing I might never see my brother again. I needed my thirteen year old big brother. I'm only ten! I need someone to teach me, someone to look up to. Kevin's older than Joe by two years, and I look up to him as well; but I need my brother back though—I just do. I love him.

I could tell my mom was on the verge of breaking down by the look on her face and in her eyes.

"Call the police now, Kevin, while I go in there to find anything," He dad said firmly as he stood up rushing towards the trees that led to the mystery. Kevin ran into the house to call 911. My mom then broke into tears.

"It's ok, Mamma. We'll find them," I reassured her. We both held each other in our arms on the steps of our back porch. Minutes went by before we met my dad in the woods with the police. Neighbors flooded the streets and around our house to figure out what had happened. Katie's parents arrived as soon as we noticed them what was going on.

"What if we never find him?" I asked Kevin out of nowhere. He knelt down in front of me so we were face-to-face. He took my shoulders in his hands and squeezed them.

"We will," He seemed so certain this was not the last time we were going to see Joe. I nodded looking down in understandment.

We were then standing where it all happened. Kevin and I told our story to two police officers while more searched through the rubbish. I constantly watched one who placed his hand in piles of leaves. I was surprised when I saw Joe's cell phone come up through the leaves in his hand.

"That's Joe's phone! That's his phone!" I exclaimed.

"'911' is dialed on here," she said aloud as Kevin looked over her shoulder to glance at the phone. "He never called it though," she finished. I sighed and shuffled out of the woods and into the house. It seemed so quiet from inside, and so loud and extreme outside. I walked through my bedroom door and threw myself on the bed. I lay on my back looking up at the patterns and pictures of the ceiling wall. I rolled over on my stomach and grabbed our family picture from the side table into my hands. I touched the glass covering the picture and broke down right then and there. I closed my eyes and began to settle down. I instantly brought myself together and sat up once I heard a knock on the door.

"Nick? You ok, dude?" Kevin asked as he came over to me and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Not at all," I replied shaking my head.

"Joe's strong, you know that," he told me.

"But Kevin—"I whimpered but Kevin interrupted me.

"No," he said firmly. I sighed and laid my head back on the pillow holding the picture close to my chest.

"He's not dead, right?" I asked gripping the picture close to me. He didn't answer me. I looked back up at him seeing he was gazing back at me.

"Right?" I repeated with more worry in my voice. He bit his bottom lip and stood up. I sat up, still with my eyes on him.

"Where are you going?" I asked him. He froze and just stood there by the door. "Kevin, please, you're scaring me," I said while placing the picture on the quilt of the bed securely and swinging my legs around to the side of the bed to stand up. He rushed up to me and embraced me tightly.

"It's ok, buddy. It's all going to be ok," Kevin told me before tears flooded his eyes. I have never seen Kevin cry before like this. That is when I knew everything was definitely not okay.


	4. Chapter 4: Hotel for the Night

**Chapter Four- ****Hotel for the Night**

**(Joe's POV)**

"You're a sick person!" I screamed at him while he held the camera up to me. He pushed me on the floor and kicked me in the stomach. The side of his shoe hit the corner of my mouth and all of a sudden the pain grew worse on my face. I touched my lip with the tips of my fingers gently. I then looked at my fingers noticing there was blood all over my middle, index, and ring finger. My lip had busted open. He laughed while filming what had all happened. He pressed the stop button on the video camera and then walked over to the corner of the room where he put the rope that he tied me up in before.

"Time for your family to see you now," he told me while he tied my hands up behind my back. I tried to fight back, but I was too weak to win, or even fight at all now. He left me alone lying on the floor on my side. I tried sitting up so I wouldn't be lying on my arms, but I fell right back down.

Time went by and nothing has changed except for the pain throughout my whole body. It has gotten worse. I knew that some parts were bruised or maybe even broken. He came back in the room with the camera in his hands.

"Any words to your family?" he held the camera up close to my face.

I closed my eyes so I wouldn't cry and whispered, "I'm so sorry…" He picked me up off the ground from my ripped shirt and shoved me on the ground in a corner. He then kicked me and blood spat out of my mouth. The condition I was in now had to be bad. I couldn't talk without coughing which hurt me worse. I could barely breathe.

"You're going on a ride," was all I heard before everything became a blur.

My eyes fluttered open to find myself on the floorboard of a van. I wasn't alone though. I moved my head towards the other end seeing Katie sitting with her head leaning against the wall sleeping. I tried speaking her name, but nothing came out. I noticed marks on her body that almost looked like burns. A sudden movement jerked me and Katie forward. She still didn't wake up. I wondered if she had been drugged out. The door opened and the man appeared talking on a cell phone.

"They're here right now…" he spoke in the phone as he put a sheet over Katie. He then hung the phone up and put the phone down on the floor of the car. He walked to the building we were parked at. I forced myself to move my hand grabbing the cell phone and dialing my home phone.

It rang three times before I heard someone muffle, "Hello…?"

"He-"I began until I got interrupted by a massive coughing fit.

"Joe? Joseph, is that you? Joseph?" I heard on the other line.

I nodded and answered, "Yes."

"Joe! Oh my gosh!" Nick cried. "Where are you? How did you call? Are you ok?"

"One question at a time, please," I whimpered.

"Where are you?"

I peeked out the window so no one could see me from outside and brought myself back down. "In a car with Katie," I began, "parked in front of this shack out in the woods…I remember this curvy road on the way…And this sign…it said 'Canon Road' or something like that. "

"We're going to find you…I promise…I love you so much…" Nick said through tears.

I closed my eyes and said, "I love you too, Nicky…Go tell Mom and Dad everything I said, please….now."

I peeked out the window so no one could see me from outside and brought myself back down. "In a car with Katie," I began, "parked in front of this shack out in the woods…I remember this curvy road on the way…And this sign…it said 'Canon Road' or something like that. "

"We're going to find you…I promise…I love you so much…" Nick said through tears.

I closed my eyes and said, "I love you too, Nicky…Go tell Mom and Dad everything I said, please….now."

"Kevin!" Nick yelled taking the phone away from the receiver. "Get Mom and Dad…Joe's on the phone…" I heard someone, guessing Kevin, talking in the background. I couldn't quite make up what he was saying.

Nick came back on the line and said, "We're getting them." There was a long pause before he asked with worry, "Are you ok?"

"Don't…" I paused and took in a deep breath, "Don't worry. Be strong for me." I started panicking once I heard the door opening. I hung up on Nick and put the phone back down where I found it. I pretended like I was sleeping right when the door opened again revealing a different guy I have never seen before. He wrapped Katie in the blanket and dragged her out into the building leaving me behind in the car.


	5. Chapter 5: Box Full of Mysteries

**Chapter 5- ****Box Full of Mysteries**

**(Kevin's POV) **

I ran to the backyard where everyone was investigating. Nick followed me and we both kept on repeatedly yelling for Mom and Dad.

"What is it, Honey?"Mom came rushing towards us.

"Joe!" we both shouted at the same time. Nick, Mom, and I rushed into the house, but something caught my eye. I stopped in front of the television. Tears filled my eyes from the image they showed on the screen. Nick walked to the right of me seeing what had caught my attention. He instantly broke into tears.

"Mom…" I stuttered. She came over and gasped. The gasp turned into a breakdown and she clung to Nick and me. The TV was turned on to the news. A picture of a kid who was tied up to a chair with beaten marks all over his body appeared on the screen. Blood stains were on his torn shirt and pants. He seemed so helpless, broken. That kid happened to be Joe.

"A thirteen-year-old boy has been kidnapped and beaten. He happens to be still missing," the reporter said. One member of the police crew walked in and handed us a package.

"The news producer gave us this for you. They said it was left by the door. They don't know who it's from. We made sure it was ok though, no bombs or anything," I took the box from his hands and put it on the kitchen counter. I carefully opened the box and brought out a couple of tapes and an envelope that seemed to be full of pictures. I took one of the video tapes into the VCR and pressed play.

"Oh my gosh…" my mom cried out. Nick started sobbing as I grabbed hold on him and pulled him close to me, painfully watching the video of Joe getting beaten. Tears fell from my eyes and onto my cheeks and dropped from my chin to the floor.

I watched Joe helplessly trying to fight back, bloody screams coming out of him at whoever was filming.

"I love you…so much, everyone…I am so sorry for what you're watch-…" He got interrupted by someone trampling him to the floor. I closed my eyes hearing Joe in pain. I began crying harder, still holding onto my mom and Nick.

"You're a sick person!" Joe yelled at the man behind the camera. I heard a loud thump coming from the TV screen and opened my eyes again. The camera zoomed on to Joe's lip. It was bloody. The tips of his fingers were bloody too from when he touched his lip. The image went away once a static sound took over. It was over. I immediately rushed to my mom's purse and grabbed the keys to the car.

"Kevin, Wait!" Nick shrieked while clinging to me.

"We have to save him!" I cried.

"We can't by ourselves! The kidnapper would put Joe as a hostage," my mom told me while grabbing my arm. I clung to my mom and cried in her arms.

We let the police watch the videos and look at the pictures the kidnapper sent us. Nick, Mom, and I went to the back of the house where Dad was and told him all there was to tell him, even Joe's phone call. I looked back to the house and saw a police woman rushing towards us.

"We found out where Joe and Katie might be," the woman called out to us.

Dad and I followed her into the police car and drove off out of our driveway and on our way to rescue my brother and new friend. Nick and Mom stayed behind. We didn't want to risk them getting hurt.

"How did you find out where they might be?" I asked while fidgeting with my ring on my finger.

"We traced the number Joe called from and it brought us to a location in the middle of the woods by Canon Road," she said behind her shoulder.

"Oh…" I slightly nodded. I shifted my body around and saw the other police cars behind us who were also in the rescue plan. I turned back around and watched the road disappear in front of us along with the images surrounding us.

"How far is it?" I asked another question to pass the time, curious as well.

"I would say about half an hour, Son," Dad put his hand on my shoulder as I sighed aloud. I looked at him for a couple of seconds before saying anything.

"What if we're too late…?"

"Let's just hope we aren't," he replied, not giving me a direct answer. Tears formed in my eyes. I didn't have to pretend to be strong now. My dad knew I was hurting even if I was trying to hide it. Too many tears filled in my eyes and they fell down my cheeks. My dad held me in his arms trying to comfort me. My head rested on his chest as I sobbed into his shirt making a visible wet spot appear on the clothing of the shirt. I knew I had doubts about going into those woods. I knew something bad was going to happen. I let that thought slip out of my mind. I wasn't being the older brother to Joe. I didn't watch out for him. I didn't save him…


	6. Authors Note: PLEASE READ

Ok, so, I don't want to get reported anymore for writing Jonas Brother stories or writing my own stories, so I am going to be posting the stories on FictionPress . net

FictionPress is the same as FanFiction but you can write your own stories. WOO! :D

But it works the same, looks the same...so it will be simple to adjust to.

Sorry to all!

~Kt


	7. Chapter 6: Too Much To Handle

Author's note: So I was thinking of quitting this story. I thought no one really liked it, but bbballgirl22 and a couple others pushed me (even though they don't really know it, they did) to write more. So this chapter is dedicated to all that have helped me and liked this story! :) Thank you so much! It means a lot!

* * *

**Chapter Six- Too Much To Handle**

**(Nick's POV)**

_I sat in the front row bench in a church. The whole room was full of sadness. I glanced to the right of me and saw Kevin. He was crying. We all were wearing black tuxes, black dresses, or some kind of a black or dark texture of clothing. _

"_We would like to honor Joseph Adam Jonas for how brave he was. He fought in a rough patch, but had lost. He is in a better place where he can now never suffer," A priest had said by an open casket that was on the stage in front of where I sat. Kevin stood up, so I followed him and stood up as well. Kevin walked over to the casket and I did the same behind him. Tears immediately fell down my cheeks as I saw Joe's body, pale and still, in the casket. He looked so peaceful, unharmed. He was wearing a black tux too. His arms were crisscrossed over his chest. Kevin bent down towards Joe and gently put his hand on Joe's. _

_Kevin whispered something I couldn't hear until his voice cracked when he said, "I love you, Joey…I'm sorry…I wasn't the older brother I was supposed to be…I'm so sorry…" He moved over and strongly hugged my mother and father, all sobbing together. It was my turn to stand in front of Joe's dead body. _

"_Joe…" I cried softly while touching his hand. His skin was cold and soft. I couldn't take this anymore and I felt weak. I felt sick. My face hit the ground as I became unconscious. _

"_Nick? Nicholas? Nick…" I heard coming from around me. _

"Nicholas, baby, wake up. You're having a nightmare," my mom gently shook me awake. I jerked up and grabbed onto my mom. The image of Joe's dead body stayed into my mind and wouldn't leave. I started to weep.

"Joe…he died…!" I stuttered through sobs.

"Shh, Sweetie, it's alright…" she tried comforting me. It wasn't working. I knew my dream meant something. The house phone started ringing. I started crying harder thinking that that one phone call was someone trying to tell us Joe was gone from this planet we call Earth. My mom left me on the bedside to pick up the line of the phone, maybe even the news of my own brother's line of his life. I took a pillow off the bed and hugged it in my arms tightly. My mother came back to my side and took my hand in hers.

"We need to go help get Joe back," she told me, helping me on my feet. We walked quickly into one of the police cars and were escorted all the way down the road, the pillow still in my arms the whole way. I imagined the pillow to be my brother, Joe, so I would be with him and know that he is ok.

We came to a stop. I looked out the window to find the sky gloomy and stormy. There was not one cloud that was white and fluffy. They were all gray and wispy. The police opened my side of the door and helped me out, then my mom behind me. The surrounding frightened me as I walked up to a couple of police cars holding my mother's hand. We were a couple yards away from an old shack. I couldn't see all the detail of the shack from where I stood. I had chills running up and down my whole body. I had a pretty good feeling Joe and Katie were inside that shack. A couple of police came up to talk to my mom which left me out of the conversation completely. I saw Kevin alone leaning on a police car close by.

"Scared?" I asked him while walking up towards him. He nodded. "Yeah…I am too," I admitted. I looked back at all the commotion and began to get teary-eyed. He pulled me into him tightly and I started to sob. He slightly pulled away once we heard a popping sound. I started running, for that was what I was told to do when a gunshot was close by. I could hear Kevin yelling my name behind me to come back. I didn't dare to look back until I heard Joe's scream. A middle-aged man, around his early 40's, with a slightly prickly brown beard that matched his ruffled brown hair was holding up Joe tightly by grabbing tightly onto his shirt. He was holding a gun to Joe's head. Police started surrounding. I began to come closer.

"Stay back!" I head Kevin shout behind me trying to grab my arm. I didn't listen. I started running as fast as I could towards Joe. The man saw me and pointed the gun towards my direction. That's when I froze. No matter how much I wanted to run, my legs wouldn't budge. _Boom! _I closed my eyes and winced as I heard the gun shoot the bullet my way. I opened my eyes to see Joe lying in from of me with his hand on his shoulder, blood gushing out to the floor. Joe had saved my life when I was supposed to be saving his. He had just saved me from a bullet. Police began to bombard. Many took down the kidnapper, many began to put Joe into a stretcher, and many began to barge into the mini house to save Katie. Everything was going by so fast, I didn't even have time to think or even feel any emotion. I was emotionless, but not for long.


	8. Chapter 7: All My Fault

**Chapter Seven- All My Fault**

**(Nick's POV) **

Sitting in the waiting room in the hospital was total agony. I wanted to talk to Joe. I wanted to see him and know that he is ok. I knew it was my fault my brother was on the line of death. I hadn't realized I had been saying these thoughts aloud until Kevin said something.

"It's not your fault, Nicky," Kevin told me putting a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. It did no comfort whatsoever.

"He wouldn't be dying if it wasn't for me…" I replied, letting the fear show in my voice. I made sure not to look at Kevin, for my eyes were filled with unshed tears.

Kevin sighed and fell back into the chair. He knew it was impossible to convince me that it wasn't my fault.

Almost two hours went by and a doctor came to stand in front of me and my family. He told us the status on Joe before guiding us up to Joe's room.

Before opening the door, the doctor turned to look at us and said, "Now, he doesn't look like himself, just as a warning."

We all demanded to see him no matter what. The doctor opened the door and we started to fill Joe's room. I took a few steps scared at what I was going to see. My eyes widened and I froze a few feet away from the door. Joe had wires and machines all over him. His tan skin was now pale. The rosiness in his cheeks had lost the color. He had bruises showing on his face with bandages wrapped around more than half his body. The sound of my mother's weeping, the sound of Kevin's comforting voice trying to make everything better, was distant around me. Every sound and movement was beginning to get slower and more distant. Reality began to speed back into my head once I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Kevin asked with concern in his eyes.

I shook my head, tears wanting to spill out. "Kev…He's dying…"

"He loves you, Nick," he continued," You need to see him. You need to let him know you love him too." I could tell Kevin was getting a little teary-eyed. He brought be into the hall so no one would be able to hear us.

"He needs you…" Kevin said quietly. I stood there like a statue. I blinked and a few tears slid down my cheeks. I didn't bother wiping them away. My older brother pulled me into the tightest hug as I buried my head into his sweatshirt and sobbed into his chest.

"He doesn't deserve this…Kev, what did he ever do to deserve to die?!" I cried.

He hugged tighter. Kevin was on the verge of sobbing himself

"I promised him I would be his hero like he is mine…" I looked at Joe's room window, "But I guess I didn't keep that promise…"

"He loves you, Nicky. He saved you from that gun shot. He would do anything for you and you know that. I would have done the same too if I was close enough," he replied. Right then is when the feeling of guilt came to me, not for the same reason it has been. I felt bad that I didn't give enough love to Kevin, my other older brother. I love him the same as I love Joe, but I know I didn't show it. Kevin looks out for me too, just as much as Joe. I didn't mean to favorite against the other.

I looked up at him with tears running down my face, "I love you too…"

"I love you, Nicky," he replied back softly with a small half-smile.

After minutes of consoling me, we both made our way back into the room to join Mom and Dad. Mom was sitting in a chair next to Joe's bed holding his hand while Dad was on the other side holding his other hand. Joe's eyes were barely open, but he was awake. Kevin immediately went to Joe's side as well right by our father. I stood at the end of the bed by Joe's legs. Joe's gaze moved directly towards me and our eyes met each other's. I looked away from Joe and looked down at my shoes.

"Can I talk to Nicky alone please?" I heard Joe say in a whisper causing me to shoot my head up. Before I knew it, I was alone with Joe. I gave him a questioning look. Why did he want to talk to me?

"What is it, Joe?" I asked, waiting for him to say something.

"Sit," Joe commanded with a smile and patted an open spot on the mattress that he was laying on with his fragile hand. I obeyed and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Joe…" I started but he interrupted me by putting his finger to his lips telling me to hush. I just looked at him, tears pressured to fall.

"I don't blame you for this, Nick. I'm so glad you aren't in this position. You wouldn't be able to handle this," Joe's eyes looked straight into mine. They were glassy. I couldn't tell if it was because of tears or because he was dying right in front of me.

"I can't even handle this, Joe…I can't handle seeing you like this…" a waterfall flowed down my cheeks. I couldn't hold it in. He moved his arm out to me to direct me to get closer. I did as Joe wanted and lay down next to him without a word. He put his arm around me and pulled me gently close to his body as I cried. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Shouldn't it be me that's comforting him? We both eventually cried ourselves to sleep in this same position.

Later that night, Joe died. We question when death will be. We question what our next step will be, and he believes in us.


	9. Help!

I have a question to all who are reading my story...Should the next chapter be in Nick's, Kevin's, or 3rd person POV?

Please tell me so I can write it :)

I appreciate everyone who is reading my story/stories. Thank you so much!


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